Six Months On

June 1, 2014

We’re now into the sixth month of 2014 and, as true for most people, my new year resolutions are beginning to be weeded out. The ‘pie in the sky’ is starting to disappear while the realistic options are stepping into the foreground. And then there are the ones that I’m having to fight for. But which are which?

Losing weight/Exercising more often

Who else has the same recurring battle with [enter appropriate food]? Today it was gingernuts. Mmmmm, four in half an hour is still too many. So yeah, my attempt to lose weight by eating correctly/less is not going well. My vegetable and fruit consumption has shot up as I’ve replaced 5-minute microwave rice packs with lots of leafy salads. But equally, particularly with so many people leaving work and having birthdays, my baked goods consumption has also gone up. So 50/50 success rate I guess on the food front.

On the exercise front, I seem to be doing slightly better. I’ve actually just been dismissed from the physiotherapist for back problems so I’m trying to keep up with doing my prescribed exercises. I’ve also dug out/bought exercise videos including two by Davina McCall, a 10-minute solutions, and Pussycat Dolls Dancebody DVD. So at least that is going well. I’ve even managed to gain the start of that line down the centre of the stomach… Progress! So at least that’s one resolution that has sort of entered reality.

Finding my place in the blogosphere

This one has come along (minute) leaps and (tiny) bounds. I have now set up a C-C.C-C email along with contacting businesses with the same ethos as myself in order to form PR relationships. You can catch my first PR post here. I’ve also started meeting and chatting with a few more bloggers. March saw me meet Gina and some of the girls blogging in the Bristol area at Bristol Fashion Week and cocktails afterwards (here). On top of that, I’ve joined in with a round of #BloggersSnailMail hosted by @GemmaMarieJames. This involved Gemma pairing up the bloggers involved, encouraging us to get to know each other before swapping gifts after a month. It was definitely one way to get to know another blogger and I’m excited about being part of it again.

I also want to sing the praises of Bonjour, Blogger. This blog is run by @Hayles, another Bristol blogger, and is aimed at providing tips and resources for other bloggers. I’ve found it really helpful and have even discovered a few more bloggers secreted away in my neck of the woods through her map on her style blog. Bonjour, Blogger has been a real help recently in giving me ideas about making C-C.C-C bigger and better. I could not recommend it enough.

My own teashop start-up

This is where the ‘pie in the sky’ comes in. Unfortunately it seems like my teenage dreams of owning a little teashop are not to be just yet. What with working on my blogging and social media along with my actual job and job applications, I just haven’t had the time to do anything about it. So apologies to anyone who was watching out for updates but this slice of pie just hasn’t been possible.

My life as a Christian

This is the real fight going on in my life right now. I’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch recently and my relationship with God has taken a hit. Partly this is my own fault as I have a rather unhealthy with Netflix that has a tendency to get in the way of quiet times. However, God has not given up on me so I should not give up on Him. And that means reading my Message translation more often but also using some of the Bible notes I’ve amassed over time.

However, life as a Christian is not just about quiet times and Bible studies. Rather, it should be your total life. And that’s where I, along with most Christians, have problems. In my everyday walk with Christ I struggle to be the person I was created to be. I’m afraid I can’t offer advice but I’ll listen to any you have. But I’ll be starting with the blog, taking it back to being about a Christian living dressing in 21st century Britain.

So that’s where I stand six months on with my 2014 resolutions. How about you?